No Pokemon, Please
by so-they-say
Summary: Lucy is the only person in New Bark town that wants NOTHING to do with pokemon- so when Professor Elm makes an offer she can't refuse, will she finally become a normal trainer like everyone else?
1. Summoning Suspicion

I adore Pokemon fanfictions, so I thought I'd give this a try! Just a little story set in Pokemon SoulSilver. Reviews would be nice, if ya liked it...

* * *

*Mini-Prologue*

If someone asked, sure, I would admit that I liked Pokemon. Some of them were cute, others cool, others valuable. They were useful, mildly interesting, and best of all, they were a distraction in school- teachers and students alike just couldn't help but interrupt math lessons to talk about their favorite critters on a daily basis. Pokemon were an important variable in the world, and human beings had lived around them for as long as anyone could remember.

But that was just it. I was content to live _around _them. I never considered actually owning one. I didn't want to take the Pokemon challenge, I didn't want to be a coordinator, I didn't even want to be a trainer (when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I usually answered with "lawyer"...much to my parents' embarrassment). I was seemingly the only person in my little world that just didn't care about Pokemon, their capabilities, or their power. I was "normal" in every aspect of the word, which by my society's standard, made me a freak. I was "the weird kid" from the moment I said, "Hey, Pokemon are okay, but can we talk about something else now?" And you know what? I was fine with that.

Until the day came when that choice was taken away from me.

* * *

"Lucy, get up. It's almost time for school!" My mother called from downstairs, impatient.

Whining, I curled deeper into my covers, pulling the blankets over my head. Every morning was like this, and every morning I cherished every little bit of sleep I could get until...

I knew it was coming, but the creepy pair of psychic-energy hands on my shoulders scared me just as much as they always had. "Hypno." My mom's prized Pokemon said in a monotone. I didn't have to open my eyes to know it would be staring at me with its freaky, emotionless gaze, swinging its stupid little pendulum back and forth as it stood over me. When I was younger, I used to try and smack it out of its hands. I still remember the nightmares it inflicted on me for weeks, even today.

Groaning, I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and pushed the Hypno (mother insisted that I call him "Mr. Happy") away. "I'm up." I grumbled. Mr. Happy stared at me regardless. "Can you leave the room now? I need to get changed. And if I catch you peeking again, I swear to god, _I will stuff you into your ball and accidentally drop it over a cliff._ Gottit?"

Mr. Happy slouched off, leering at me with his pendulum swinging, offended.

"The stupid pervert." I muttered.

"Hypno." He said from the other side of the door.

He didn't have to be a psychic to know that I insulted him behind his back on a daily basis.

* * *

When I finally trumped downstairs dressed and starving for breakfast, I found my mother in the kitchen, tying tiny ribbons around her Octillery's tentacles. "You look so pretty, Bibbles!" She cooed, surveying the octopus with affection. With a sad little sigh I pushed past her. It looked like I had to make my own breakfast. Again. Mom had spent the last week and a half preparing her Pokemon for upcoming contests, and I guess I couldn't hold it against her...except that lately, I was sort of swept under the rug for her darling pets. I moodily pulled a glass of MooMoo Milk from the fridge, found a slice of pizza we had for dinner a few nights ago, and chowed it down cold. So much for waking up to steamy, love filled pancakes.

"Ooo, Lucy, what do you think of Bibbles' bows?" Mom asked, excited. She waved her hands around the octopus gleefully, presenting it to me. The Octillery waved it's tentacles around, mimicking her.

I gave it a quick glance over my pizza before chugging back some milk. "He looks, uh. Great. Good job, Mom."

"Bibbles is a girl..." She sounded crestfallen.

Great. I quickly backtracked, talking louder to get her attention again. "She. SHE! Of course Bibbles is a girl. _She _looks great, mom. Seriously." I tried to smile at her, forcing myself to look as sincere as possible.

Mom beamed. "I'm so glad! I've been working _so hard_ on coming up with an outfit for the visual portion of the contest...Don't these ribbons complement her eyes? She's such a pretty Octillery..."

I let my mom babble again while I finished up "breakfast" and got my stuff together- my trusty old backpack filled with binders, textbooks, my sketch book, my Pokegear, and about twenty-packs of bubblegum. Strictly school essentials, with no pokemon-related items in sight. I couldn't imagine carrying around an entire pharmacy in my bag like some of the trainers I had seen.

I was preparing to walk out the door when Mom snapped out of her Octillery-spew and caught me. "Oh, honey, I forgot to tell you! Professor Elm asked that you come by his lab this morning, before school...I'm sure your teachers wouldn't mind if you were a little late! He _is _the town's leading pokemon expert..."

Irritated, I turned around, my hand still on the doorknob. "What does he want?" I asked, a little sharply. I was three years older than the age that most kids would leave town and go on their pokemon-adventures. Most of the kids in New Bark town had stayed (they were either too young or too inexperienced to go alone), but there were quite a few that left for Violet city to become trainers. My best friend had been one of them. I remembered how Professor Elm had offered a pokemon to me numerous times in the past, not understanding why I wouldn't want to be a trainer. Wasn't that what _every _kid my age wanted?

Mom recoiled a bit at my tone, a worried look glimpsing across her face. I got my composure together quickly. She knew how I got when people tried to force pokemon on me. "He didn't say, Lucy." She said quietly. "He just wanted you to stop by. I'm sure it's nothing...it's not like you have to go. Not if you don't want to." She looked a little pained at saying this, and I immediately thought of the time I had caught her on the phone with my grandmother, talking about how utterly confused she was as to why I wouldn't become a trainer. I knew she wasn't ashamed of my choice, but being a great trainer of her time, I knew she was still dissappointed.

"It's...it's okay. I'll go." I said hoarsely. I didn't want to- not in the least, only because I knew how it would end- Professor Elm would try to pressure me yet again into accepting a pokemon that I didn't want or need to help him with his research. But if it would make Mom happy, I would try. For her sake.

With a sigh of defeat, I was out the door and headed to the lab.


	2. Reeling and Dealing

Hiya! I was so happy that I got reviews that I ended up writing this chapter...and I think I went a little overboard. ^^' Sorry.

This chapter's a little slow- please bare with me! It's gonna get better soon, I swear. I'm also going to describe Lucy's character more, but I couldn't think of a way to get it in there this round. On sadder note, I restarted my SoulSilver game the other day because I got bored on victory road...sorry, Typhlosion. I have the attention span of a squirrel. A faithless, faithless squirrel.

Hope you like it!!! Reviews would be nice. =)

* * *

For what it was worth, I always knew that Professor Elm wasn't a sneaky kind of guy. Sure, he could be a little pushy sometimes (or _really_ pushy, like around my tenth birthday that I refused one of his best pokemon) but he was, for the most part, harmless. Elm was a younger sort of scholar type- nerdy, by-the-book, and generally friendly to anyone. Almost everyone in New Bark looked up to him, regardless. Not because he was a nice guy. Not even because he was considered Professor Oak's prodigy. No. It was because Professor Elm, from the moment he set up his lab here in this little two-horse town, was _ours. _He had chosen New Bark to set up his research laboratory. He had chosen _us. _

And now, as it appeared, he had chosen me. _Again. _

_"_Great." I huffed_, _standing just outside the door to his lab. Digging my fingers into the straps of my backpack, I unhappily considered knocking. But then again, weren't people in and out of this place on a regular basis anyway? Would there be others inside? And even worse that that...what if there were others who _knew _that Elm had invited me here, or even why? Was this going to be some kind of peer-pressure scam?

Tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind my ear, I drew in a sharp breath. _I am Lucy Nora Lee. _I thought, suddenly rebellious. _The only kid in New Bark town and possibly all of Johto that will _**NOT **_become a pokemon trainer. And I'm not changing that for anyone, let alone some geeky professor and his brainwashed poke-drones. I'm not going to be like everyone **else. **_

My chest was almost bursting with pride for myself. With full confidence, I slapped open the door and marched inside, completely prepared for whatever the professor was going to throw at me this time.

* * *

As it turns out, he threw a pokeball.

The moment I had stepped inside of the lab, I was nearly blinded by the bright, fluorescent lights blazing from the ceiling. What, did he have floating Lanturns for electricity in here or something?! An electabuzz? As I rubbed my eyes furiously, I heard a yell from far down the room, and then the unmistakable sound of a pokeball being deployed. Before I could even lift my head, a hard, metal sphere had smacked into my forehead and doused me in a jet of red-light.

I roared in pain. "What the FU-"

"Lucy!" Professor Elm called with sincere surprise and joy. I blinked my eyes, bleary, trying to squint through the pain of my now aching forehead and the powerful lights from above.

I was instantly aware that I was face-to-face with what looked to be an overgrown chicken.

With a tiny squeak of fear, the proud, ready-for-action Lucy of two seconds ago was reduced into a shrinking, flailing little girl afraid of a boogie-monster. I recoiled against the wall of the lab as I stared at the beast in front of me in horror. It was definitely some sort of chicken-creature, and it was at least a head taller than me. Its face was shaped almost like a beak with bright, fire-like red feathers and a pair of crystal blue eyes that were narrowed as it inspected my pathetic figure, crumpled against the wall. Two beefy-looking arms were held in front of it as if ready to grab at me. I took one look at the set of talons on the end of each of its fingers before I nearly fainted.

"Oh, oops...Blazekin, return! She isn't the intruder..."

And then it was over.

Blinking, confused, and terrified on the floor, I watched as the ever-friendly Professor Elm sauntered over to me and extended a hand. "I'm so sorry about that, Lucy!" He laughed nervously. "It's just that there have been a lot of break-in attempts lately, and most visitors here usually knock before coming in, just in case I'm studying a flighty-sort of pokemon...for a second there, I thought you were a thief!...Although a thief wouldn't be so quick to nearly die of fright...You should have seen your face!"

The Professor chuckled, and I was quick to give him a death-glare as I rose off of the cold tiled floor. I _knew _that this was a mistake!

"Yeah, I'm sure it was a riot." I spat peevishly. At my tone the Professor sobered at once, regarding me with unease.

"You have my sincerest apologies, Lucy." Professor Elm said gently. He gestured to the further end of the lab, carefully, as if this would offend me too. "Why don't you come in? As you probably already know, I have a very important reason for calling you here today."

I trailed behind him, stoic and silent as he walked me through the vast room. There were shelves stuffed with dull-colored books, and an occasional assistant could be seen filing away papers in neat cabinet-sets about the lab. He payed no attention to any of them, only walking calmly as he continued a speech about some sort of scholar-association that I might be interested in. I vaguely listened, instead glancing behind my shoulder every now and then, wary. I wasn't about to let my guard down after my very warm welcoming.

Professor Elm finally came to a halt. Still busy planning an escape route, I crashed into his back face-first. Although he didn't seem to mind, Elm looked at me, pointing to a gigantic red-and white machine before us. I could see pokeballs sitting neatly on it, like a conveyor belt. "I'm sure you're aware of what this is, right Lucy?" He asked, suddenly serious. "I don't blame you if you don't remember. The last time you were in this laboratory was nearly three years ago..."

"I remember." I said unenthusiastically. Not that I wanted to. Crossing my arms, I scrutinized Professor Elm with slight disdain. "It's a pokemon transmittance device. Sort of like a holding place for pokemon. Or for legally trading them." Although I had no interest in pokemon, it was a required-class course that every student at least know the basics. Then, my tone sharper, "_What about it?"_

Professor Elm studied me quietly, and I kept eye-contact, refusing to look away. He averted his blue/gray eyes for a moment with a sigh. Running a hand through his neatly trimmed hair, he tried again. "From what your mother tells me, Lucy, you wish to be a lawyer one day, correct?"

I was in complete shock._ ...Mom has been talking to Professor Elm about me? **And she actually acknowledges that I want to be a lawyer?!?!**_

I swallowed loudly, trying to keep my composure. "Um, y-yeah. I do. I mean, that's what I've been planning..." _Real smooth, _I hissed to myself, hating how weak and off-guard I sounded. But Professor Elm paid no mind. Instead, he came closer to the machine, running a hand over one of the pokeballs with cool indifference. "I see." He allowed. "An interesting occupation, to be sure. And I suppose you already have a school you would like to go to imagined? You're still young, but college is coming just around the corner for you..."

"I was thinking... about Violet City Law Academy." I said sheepishly. Usually when I said such things, people would laugh, or snicker, or even mutter about my sanity under their breaths. Sometimes, I didn't blame them. Sometimes.

Professor Elm cleared his throat, clearly just as startled as everyone else had been. He kept his tone friendly, but cautious. "Then, as I'm sure you are aware, you know that such schools require a hefty amount of payments...And Violet City Academy is one of the best schools in Johto. Do you have any idea how you're going to pay for your education?"

Now, I would be the first person to admit that I wasn't a fighting-sort of person. I was almost _always _calm in situations, and even when I wasn't, I at least could hold my temper. But at the Professor's passive-aggressive hint that I wouldn't be able to afford my dream school...

Heat rushed to my face as my hands balled themselves into fists at my sides, and I glowered up at Professor Elm with absolute, venomous disgust. He was going to tell me that it would be more monetarily responsible to become a trainer than a lawyer, I just knew it. He was going to try and scare me out of the career. He was going to say the exact wrong thing that would set me off, and not just on him, but on this entire stupid town that just wouldn't understand- I would _never, _**ever** even consider becoming a pokemon trainer. Not in this lifetime.

And you know what? I almost wanted him to. I was aching for a good fight at the moment. Let him hide behind his stupid pokemon _then. _

"No, I do not." I said, menacingly calm. "Do you have a problem with that?"

To my horror (and secret satisfaction), he smiled. "Not in the least, Lucy." Professor Elm said with an even larger grin. "In fact, it's the entire reason I called you here in the first place. I have a proposition for you...if you'd be wiling to listen just a little longer."

"Try me." I growled.

"What would you think of taking care of a pokemon- _don't look at me like that, I'm not done_- ...of taking care of a pokemon, just ONE, mind you, just until it evolves..."

I waited, unimpressed so far. My arms were still crossed and my expression was _more_ than defiant.

"...in exchange for a research-granted tuition for your first year of law school?"

Suddenly, I had the oddest urge to cuddle my mother's Octillery, or even any pokemon within this vicinity.

"...Continue." I croaked.


	3. I Chose You Not

Aloha! I tried to stuff more pokemon in here, this time around...because what's a poke-fic without pokemon? Yikes.

I dislike Totodiles. There's something about that watery, daffy-duck cry they have on the anime that creeps me the f out, dude.

To reviewers:_ You rock. Very, very hard. _

* * *

Professor Elm chuckled, giving me an appraising, hopeful look. He knew he had my attention now. And I'd freely admit, if this 'proposition' was really as good as it sounded, he had more than half of my cooperation. If this was real, of course. There was always the possibility that this was some cruel, sick joke. Or that I was dreaming. I tried discreetly pinching my arm. Nothing happened.

"There isn't much more to verify, Lucy." Elm's tone was persuasive; trying to lure me in without scaring me away from the prospect. Feeling like a _very _quick to bite Magicarp on the hook, I forced myself to appear nonplussed. "This is going to be a written agreement between yourself and I. Your mother has already seen the contract." Noticing my suddenly wary expression, he waved his hands dismissively. "Oh, come on now. Do you really think that I, as a responsible adult, would offer this sort of deal to a child _without _their parent's consent?"

"_I am not a child..."_ I muttered sourly under my breath.

Professor Elm shook his head again. "Let's stay on topic. This is the deal, Lucy. Professor Oak (the admiration in his voice was borderline adoring) and the rest of the top-contributors of the pokemon-research society have decided to give special grants to chosen trainers. Usually, these sorts of grants would go to care packages for their journeys: potions, pokeballs, pokedexes, supplies such as those. You, however, are a special case."

At this, I cocked my head. "But _why_, Professor Elm?" I asked, bewildered. _Not_ that I didn't appreciate the offer. "Why me, of all people? There are still plenty of kids in New Bark...or even in any of the other towns! Why would you even consider me? I still don't even want to become a trainer..."

"I think," Professor Elm said, giving me a sharp gaze, "It is for that exact reason that I picked you. You seem like a good kid, Lucy. You have a natural...aura about you. I think you have real potential... do you understand? No one can _force_ you to use that potential, no one could _force_ you into anything...you have a bit of a stubborn side, as I've already seen. But I want you to try. And if giving you this tuition is the only way to get a pokeball in your hands... then I guess it's worth the price."

I stared at the professor...and continued to stare. I had never been talked to this way, before now. Of course I knew what a genuine compliment was. It wasn't that. I think it was the amount of faith this practical stranger had in me. In _me. _In something I didn't even care about. And the fact that he was willing to sacrifice more than a standard amount of money to fuel my ambitions, ambitions that no one could understand but he accepted, finally earned my respect.

This was still a lot to dump on a teenager at seven in the morning, though. With a weary, helpless expel of air, I looked up at Professor Elm with firm conviction...and exhaustion. I was tired. And I hadn't even been to school yet."I'll...I'll do it." I murmured weakly, but sincere. "Gimme the contract. I still have at least six periods of 'prison' ahead of me today."

Professor Elm laughed. "Okay, okay. We'll speed this process up. I'll let you have a full read-through of the contract, and you can question any part of the document that you don't understand or agree with...on one condition."

Rubbing at my eyes again, I halfheartedly muttered, "What."

"You chose your first pokemon. Right now."

I may have agreed to train a pokemon into an evolution, but I still wasn't happy about becoming a 'trainer' in any sort of form. But what choice did I have? With this tuition, it would practically be a mortal _sin_ to complain. My future had never been clearer.

"Fine." I mumbled, bitter. "Show me what you got."

* * *

Professor Elm was more than excited to show off his pokemon collection. "Oh, the possibilities!" He nearly sang, fluttering around the lab, completely without shame. "Your very first starter! Your companion! Your-"

"Take it easy there, bub." I said, my head in my hands. "Remember, this isn't a life-time commitment, here. I'm doing this for my tuition. Once whatever little sucker you give me evolves, you are getting it **right back.**"

He barely seemed to hear me, and I suspected that he still believed that I would become too attached to whatever little pest he gave me to give return it. Oh, how wrong he was going to be. I could tolerate pokemon, sure. But my chances of actually _liking _a pokemon, in particular? One in specific, to love and nurture? The odds were one in a thousand. Maybe even two. I was _not _a sentimental pet-type.

"Would you like a fire type? They often have your determined spirit (and stubbornness...)!"

"No." My voice was flat.

"Perhaps a water type, then. They're very useful! And they often become quite loyal to their-"

"No."

"...You know, it isn't a standard starter pokemon, but I _could _offer you a rarer species...you do, after all, have a rare personality..."

My head whipped up, and I nearly threw my favorite green barrette at the professor. "Look, Elm," I said, threatening. "Why would you bother wasting a rare pokemon on someone who wouldn't even appreciate it? Give me something plain. Something very, very normal that you wouldn't miss around the lab much. Something that other trainers could catch on a route in five seconds. Like that."

"Nope." Professor Elm answered, grinning. "It's a part of the contract, actually. I get to chose your starter. And I am making sure it is unique. Often, the weaker sort of pokemon in this area level-up in no time. I want to give you something you can _really _bond with."

I let my head fall back into my arms again, rocking back and forth in an effort to stay calm. This was going to be hell.

Letting the professor twitter to himself for nearly twenty more minutes, I caught up on some beauty-rest. I was beyond tired. I had been shocked awake by my mother's creepy hypno, come face to face with a chicken-monster, and offered a tuition for college all before ten in the morning. I thought I deserved a little nap. Just a little rest...

When I came to, I opened my eyes to see three pokeballs lain in a row in front of me, placed with care. Professor Elm was sitting in a nearby chair, skimming through what appeared to be a literary magazine on pokemon. He hadn't noticed that I was awake yet. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I reached out toward the nearest pokeball, curious as to what was inside.

"Oh, you're up!"

Startled, I bumped into the tiny silver button, and the ball released a pokemon into my lap. I stared at the little creature in shock, wanting desperately to knock it off of me, but too afraid to move. Sitting, rather dazed, was a little blue crocodile.

"Aw, a Totodile! That would suit you very well!" Professor Elm chirped, immediately running off the pokemon's statistics. "He's a water type, level five, with an impish nature-"

The Totodile smiled at me with a terrifying set of fangs, and then sunk said teeth into my leg. Trying not to scream but feeling my rising hysteria, I looked up at Professor Elm with pure, unfiltered despise. "Get. It. Off." I hissed between clenched teeth.

With a little sigh of disappointment, Elm returned Totodile into its pokeball.

I exhaled nosily, and then suddenly screamed, "THAT hurt like a BITC-"

"Why don't we move on to the next one?" Elm said, cheery. He dumped another pokeball into my lap, and thankfully this one didn't deploy. I held it in my hands, nervous, my eyes teary from the stinging chomp into my leg. I looked at the knee of my jeans (my brand _new_ jeans) with despair. It was punctured with a perfect circle of just _lovely _little teeth marks.

I briefly considered a crocodile-skin purse. I heard that they were all the rage, in other regions...

"I assure you, this next pokemon poses no threat!" Professor Elm quickly tried to encourage me. "Totodiles are normally very sweet pokemon, but they can be a bit of a handful, to the inexperienced trainer....this one will be better, I swear-"

"No more water types."

He nodded solemnly. "No more water types."

A little reserved, I released the pokemon inside...and revealed a tiny, adorable baby chick. "Cute!" I found myself say, rather relieved. No fangs in sight! The baby-chick snuggled into my leg, chirping. "Torchic! Torchic!" The little tuft of feathers on the top of it's orange head bobbed, excited, and I was momentarily distracted. It took me a few moments before I registered the 'torch' prefix at the beginning of its name.

Torch. Fire. Fire was bad. Very, very bad. "Bye-bye, birdie!" I said, completely cheerful. Torchic stared up at me in surprise as it disappeared back inside of the pokeball in a moment's notice. Satisfied, I set the ball back on the floor with a hardy smack.

Professor Elm was flabbergasted. "You...you just rejected one of the cutest starter pokemon known to man..."

I looked up at him blankly. "...And?"

Shaking his head, the professor muttered something about 'having the heart of a Froslass', grabbed up a random pokeball from the machine, and prepared himself to chuck it at me. "Wait!" I held up my hands, ready to deflect a rogue ball that would hit me on the head again. "What about this one? I haven't seen it yet. You were the one who put it in front of me in the first place..." I reached for the last remaining pokeball at my left.

Professor Elm eased, his hand clutched around one of his specimens with dull surprise. "Ah! I had almost forgotten..."

Cautiously, I slid my fingers over the hard, steel sphere, mentally readying myself for whatever that could be inside. This one wasn't nearly as warm as the torchic's had been, which was a good sign. In fact, it was pleasantly cool. I briefly wondered if it was going to reveal some sort of nasty ice-type. What if this was a sneasel? I never had the same feelings for them as my mother, who had at least three of those sneering, deceptive little demons...

I checked my watch. It was 8:55.

"Well, I'm already late for school, and it's not like I'm getting any younger, here." My voice was a bit flat, although I tried to sound even somewhat joking. "Whatever this is, it better be good."

The ball opened with a snap, and then everything went...green.


	4. Fitting In

Oh, jeez, I hope this isn't going to be too anti-climatic. Lucy's starter is pretty predictable. At first, I intended for it to be an oddish, but....

Ah well.

Major thanks to Horseloverheather, inu-demon02, Z-r-e-t-a-r, XPikachu-PrincessX, and define-originality! All of your reviews are awesome.

I'm sorry if the writing on this one is a little bad. My social life (gasp!) has been a bit busy. Hopefully I'll have more time to do these...I have soooo many ideas for future chapters...*sinister laughter*. That is, if you all will bare with me. Hope you like it!

* * *

While tiny, stubby toenails dug into the front of my hoodie, I was more distracted by the very long, aromatic leaf protruding into my face...and the pair of bright red eyes looking curiously up into mine. "Chi?" the little leaf creature seemed to ask, sizing me up. It was content to sit in my lap while it did so. It's leaf (which, to my amazement, was almost longer than the rest of its body) poked at my nose. I sneezed. The pokemon glared at me, a bit disgusted.

Professor Elm laughed. "My God, how could I forget Chikorita? I should have known that he would have been a good match for you! I had wanted to avoid giving you a grass type, only because some trainers tend to think that they're a little too easy to start with...not to mention the amount of poison-related accidents on their behalf...of course, there have only been a very few cases of such incidents this year-"

While the professor blabbed on, I decided to take initiative. I picked up the chikorita (although I wasn't the brightest of pokemon-experts, I at least knew to grab it from behind it's forelegs) and held it up to my face to get a better look. He did not like this at _all_. The baby grass-pokemon wiggled in my hands, suddenly irate, leering at me with what appeared to be offense. "ChikChikChik!" It squeaked angrily. The large, smelly leaf swished in the air at ridiculous angles.

And...I laughed.

"It...it looks so _silly!" _I breathed between collapses of giggles. "That...that _face..._and that necklace! I thought... I thought you said it was a boy!"

Professor Elm cleared his throat, smiling. "Well, yes, Lucy, it _is _a boy...that is how all chikoritas look. I'm afraid there are almost no differences between the males and females of the species...except for maybe temperament, in which case I believe that the males are a little less emotional..."

The chikorita squealed at me, slapping at my face with its leaf. Its scent was sweet with just a hint of spice, as if revealing his feisty nature. "Um, sorry, Chick...orita." I chuckled at my own terrible pun. He did not seem amused. Smirking, I gently sat him back onto the floor. Chikorita held his head high, indignant, and walked away from me with his nose in the air. He was a proud little thing...

The professor eyed me, suddenly curious. "Did you just apologize to him...?!"

I looked up, meeting his gaze with confusion. "Well, yeah...? I mean, if I offended him that much...I didn't mean to upset it-"

And with those words I had sealed my fate.

As a manic grin rippled across Professor Elm's face, his eyes alight with pure, unconcealed joy, I watched numbly as he leaped from his chair and came flying towards me with frightening speed . He picked up Chikorita's pokeball from the floor, dusted it off with two seconds of care, and handed it to me like a golden holy grail. "Then he belongs to you now." And with that, he dropped the pokeball into my unsuspecting hands.

I stared at the ball, aware of what I had just done and the commitment made in literal seconds. "Fuck." I muttered at my own stupidity. The chikorita- now _my _chikorita (I shuddered at the thought) stared at me with disdain. I obviously was _not _the trainer it had ever intentioned. I didn't blame him- it wasn't like I was any more comfortable with the situation than he was. I guess it was a bit too late for that, now...

"Would you like to give him a nickname?" Professor Elm asked eagerly. "Your chikorita has a bold nature, and-"

"Elm."

The grown man stopped gushing long enough to give me a sad, pathetically oppressed little stare. "But...but you can't honestly not want to give your pokemon a _name_..." He whined.

Shaking my head sadly, I felt a nudge against my calf, and when I looked down I saw that Chikorita had planted himself firmly on my foot, glowering up at me with brave irritation. "What are you doing?" I asked, half to myself, and half to the angry little grass pokemon. He huffed impatiently.

"I think he wants a proper apology." Professor Elm mused. I glanced over to see him smiling, obviously enjoying this. I secretly cursed him. All I wanted this morning was to go to school, come home, and maybe just get a few more hours of sleep...

Halfheartedly, I leaned down slightly so that I was face-level with Chikorita and his fierce scarlet eyes. My long, messy black hair spilled over my shoulders, hanging above him like a web of tangles. He sniffed at my strawberry shampoo, a bit mollified. "Erm...I'm very sorry for offending you, Chikorita." I said as respectfully as I could without sounding insincere. "I didn't mean to act like a jerk. It's...it's been a long morning..."

To my surprise, he seemed to understand. He still sat on my foot nonetheless. Were my sneakers really that comfortable? As Professor Elm began another tangent on how I should take care of my new pokemon, what to feed him, and where I supposed to go in case of emergencies, Chikorita kept my foot warm, his long leaf swaying contentedly as he watched the professor talk. I had to admit, the little guy smelled good. I sneezed again in spite of myself.

I was suddenly aware of little eyes glaring up at me once more. So he was a germ-aphobe. Great.

* * *

Mom was, to say the least, ecstatic.

"_Oooo_! Honey, how_ cute_! A Chikorita! Gosh, I always loved grass-types- did you know that I chose a bulbasaur for my starter pokemon back in Kanto? How sweet! Would you like your Chikorita to meet her? She's a venasaur now, but I'm sure they'd get along- ooo! How about we have a grass-pokemon slumber party? Would Chikorita like that? Do you think you should enter him in a contest? Or a few? What about the pokemon triathlon? Do you want to take pictures?_ LET ME GO GET MY CAMERA_-"

Sprawled out on the couch, I listened to my mother's voice rise and fall like a hysteric, very hyper ocean. I could hear her bustling about our kitchen, grabbing up one thing, then abandoning it for another, sometimes stopping to cuddle my Chikorita (who was now given free-range around the house). Mom had already unleashed at least six other pokemon to meet him, and I also had a vague suspicion that she was trying to set him up with a bellossom, or at least one of her many tangelas. "You two can get _married!_" I heard her coo, enthusiastically trying to encourage Chikorita to sit next to a very solemn looking Roselia.

I shut my eyes, my brand-new contract held tightly in my hands. As soon as I had come home from the lab, my mother had attacked the paper with her signature, almost breaking the paper as she wielded a pen like a spear. She had refused to let me go to school, instead demanding that I introduce her to my pokemon, and then sweeping him away in a storm of crazy schemes. He wasn't just the cutest chikorita she had ever seen, he was the cutest chikorita _ever_, and ten seconds after meeting him she had already planned at least ten different things to do together in five minutes. She was (using the lightest word possible) already attached.

I sighed.

"Chi." a tired little voice muttered in reply. When I opened my eyes, Chikorita had somehow escaped my mother long enough to come over to me, trying to hide behind my leg. I watched, amused, as he swished his leaf dejectedly. "You'll get used to her, soon." I mumbled shyly, grinning to myself. Chikorita looked up at me, obviously disbelieving what I had just said as he hung his head, exhausted. I had the sudden urge to pick him up and let him sit on the couch with me, but I had found out from earlier how he disliked being picked up, and besides, he seemed content to sit on the floor beside me...

That was, until Mom swooped in, grabbed up the weary leaf-pokemon, and dashed away again. So much for making nice. When I peeked over the side of the couch, I saw that she had already somehow gotten a bow on the top of Chikorita's head, and was proceeding to force him into an awkward conversation with a Sandshrew and Mr. Happy, the ever-creepy hypno.

Poor little guy. He didn't stand a chance.

Reading over the contract terms one last time (some of the basic rules that had stuck out in my mind were simple: that I had to care for and raise my pokemon into its next evolution on my own, that I would not receive the tuition until I had fulfilled my end of the deal and I was in my senior year in school, several conditions about if I had somehow become attached and did _not _want to give him back...) I relaxed, letting myself enjoy what was all-in-all a good day. So what if I had (temporarily) conformed into becoming a pokemon trainer? Now I had earned an amazing start to my future school, I had made my mom happy, and the pokemon I had "picked" wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be...

A bit cautious, I began to wonder. Maybe this could work out after all.


	5. A Whisper From Another World

Sorry for the wait, if anybody minded. Damn you, homework! Stop holding me back from my internet addiction!

Anyways.

I thought I'd try something new in this chapter. I swear I'll update by at least Tuesday. I'm really sorry if you don't like the writing for this one- I've been having major writers block, lately. Stupid brain.

Thanks for reading, guys! =)

* * *

Walking with Chikorita in the tall grass on Route 29, I tried to convince myself that I wasn't having fun. I mean, what _could _be fun about trekking around knee-deep in foliage on an old, overgrown road? Weak but fierce little pokemon ambushed us constantly under the Saturday morning sun, most of them very disturbed rattata thirsting for our (my) blood. We had hit a dry-spell for the last three minutes or so it seemed, and Chikorita and I were left to trudge about in circles, looking for new opponents. I just couldn't believe myself. I had homework to do, essays to write, and here I was, mucking out in the freshly-damp soil and grass, getting dirty and fighting off feral animals. How in the hell could _anyone_ find this rewarding, let alone entertaining?

No, better question: how was _I?_

"Maybe we should walk in deeper, do you think?" I asked Chikorita, a bit dizzy with new thoughts and strategies calculating in my mind. We had been training for hours, for days now, and Chikorita was already leveling up at top speed. I was getting used to planning out his attacks for certain enemies- a strong tackle, quickly followed by a razor-leaf for rattatas, several tackles in a row for pidgeys...

"Chi, chika!" Chikorita responded eagerly. He looked up at me, grinning. I hadn't known that pokemon could smile until my first night with him. The thought of Mr. Happy ever smirking at me, leering above his little pendulum as he stood over my bed...

I shivered violently, and Chikorita began squeaking in concern, smacking my shin with his leaf. He was getting better at controlling it; he adored swinging his leaf above his head in the mornings to show off in front of my mother's venasaur, Polly. Mom had been right: they got along better than I would have ever imagined, even despite their size difference. Polly carried Chikorita around like a baby with her vines, rocking him to sleep or keeping him safe from a particular sneasel my mother had caught last year. The little demon simply _adored _sneaking up behind Chikorita with its razor-sharp, icy claws...

A pidgey descended from a nearby tree, squawking angrily at me as it wavered its wings in the air, threatened. I stared at it. There were no nests in sight. What on earth was it so upset about?

"Pidge! PIDGEY! Pid Pid Pid-"

Before I could even think, Chikorita had already sent a flurry of leaves at the flustered little bird, pelting its feathers with its signature grass-attack. I sighed. Chikorita was the type to fight first and ask questions later. This had already accounted for nearly half of the battles we had today. The pidgey shirked off most of the leaves, now completely enraged. I watched in amusement as it tried to pluck a rather sharp, sticky leaf from its wing, screeching at us in frustration. Chikorita stood straight, proud of himself, and turned to me for encouragement. "Um, good job, buddy." I said, a bit reserved. "I mean, _I'm _the one who's supposed to tell you when to attack, but you know, it's not like _I _mind, or anything..."

I could've sworn that the little monster had rolled its eyes at me before focusing once more on the pidgey. But it was gone; the patch of grass before us was empty. It must have wandered off when we weren't paying attention...

"Chik-chik-chik!!!" Chikorita snapped, twisting his tiny stem in irritation. He hated when an enemy got away; it was a waste of experience. When Chikorita fought, he was determined to fight till the end.

I took a quick look down at my jeans (they were torn, damp, and covered in dirt) before unceremoniously plucking Chikorita up from the ground and holding him at my side. "C'mon, boy." I muttered, ignoring his angry squirming and yelps. "That's enough for today. Now I've got homework, a shower, _and_ laundry to do tonight."

"_Chikchikchikchikchik-"_ Chikorita wiggled desperately in my grasp. I took a good look at his tiny light-green scales, noticing the good layer of grime on them. Damn those pidgey and their sand-attacks..."You're getting a shower too, methinks." I told him, matter-of-fact. He quickly stopped writhing and lay limp in my arms, his expression defeated. While he didn't mind baths, he _did _mind the strawberry-scented pokeshampoo Mom had bought him as a welcoming present. "Chi." He whimpered.

I marched home with Chikorita, victorious.

* * *

Later that night, I was completely content to do my homework on the couch with Chikorita when my cellphone rang. At first I didn't even bother to check it, instead concentrating on a particularly hard math problem. Negative five to the square root of five squared, minus negative four, multiplied by 10...

"Chik! Chikor, chik chik!" Chikorita whined, poking at my side with his leaf. I looked down impatiently. "What, Chikorita?" I asked, my eyes straying back to the homework sheet. "Can't you see I'm doing algebra, here? I mean, unless you know where the calculator is, this had better be important..."

Chikorita pulled my phone out of my pocket, holding it up to me in his mouth. I could tell by his face that he wasn't very fond of the taste of plastic. Trying to humor him I picked up my cell, half-convinced that it would only be a casual text-message from one of my friends from school, or maybe even one of my cousins from Kanto. Surely nothing important...

And then I looked at the name, blinking up on the little blue screen in bold-black letters. I stared at it in a daze. I thought I had deleted his name from my address book _ages _ago...two years, to be exact. It had been _three_ whole years without a word from _him_. So why was he calling now?

Chikorita eyed my vacant expression with alarm, nudging my elbow in concern. "Chi!" He quipped, snapping me out of my thoughts. I gave him a comforting pat of the head as I stared at my phone again, debating on what to do. Should I answer, or shouldn't I? Should I? Could I? Chikorita nipped at my finger pressing down on the phone case, urging me on with a curious look.

I flipped open the phone and held it up to my ear numbly, waiting for the voice that I was dreading and longing to hear. Tyler.

"Uh, hey, Lucy?" I heard him ask, his voice a bit muffled by static. He sounded so much different-almost alien, coming from my phone's crappy little speakers. "Lucy, you there? It's me."

I cleared my throat, trying not to sound too off-guard. Too hurt. "Hi, Tyler." I muttered, lamely. "Long time, no speak..."

My ex-best friend had called me at last.


	6. Possibilites

20 minutes of awkward, painfully casual conversation could not make up for three whole years: Tyler knew that. But it both broke (and overjoyed) my heart to hear him try. "I'm really sorry, Lucy." He said at last, in a regretful little voice that I could barely hear. "I know I shouldn't have just abandoned you like that. You were never a bad friend- it was my fault for just...just..."

Tyler wasn't good with words or emotion at ten years old, and he sure as hell wasn't now. I almost had to smile. Almost. "It's fine, Tyler." I said, a bit stiff. I couldn't forgive him yet for leaving me without a single call in all this time- for ignoring all of _my_ calls and messages and desperate pleas for him to forgive me...for _him_ to understand. He had wanted to become a pokemon master. I wanted to be a lawyer. When I had refused to come with him to Professor Elm's lab for our very first pokemon, Tyler had stormed out of town without so much as giving me his poke-gear number (which I eventually weaseled from his mother). After years of being my neighbor, classmate, and best friend for all of our childhood, Tyler had thrown all of it away to focus on his dream. I followed suit- after a year of vain hope, I forever deleted his number from my phone.

And here we were.

"Your mom called me a few nights ago." Tyler said casually. Chikorita looked at my fingers in alarm as they contorted around my cellphone, scratching at the thick black-plastic case with sudden, growing rage. "Oh really." I murmured in a monotone. "So she told you." _I'm going to kill her. _I thought to myself, almost sanely. I just couldn't believe this. My own mother, betraying my feelings to gush about my new pokemon to an ex-best friend. What was she _thinking? _Or had she even at all?

I could almost hear Tyler smiling on the other end of the phone- he was currently in Olivine City, taking a few nights to rest in the local Pokemon Center. "How's your Chikorita, Lucy?" He asked. I could just imagine the smirk on his face..."Your mom says he's...well. She's said a lot about the little guy."

"Chi? Chik Chik Chik..." Chikorita babbled, staring curiously at my phone. He had heard his name, and now he was interested. I gently battled to keep him off of my lap and his leaf away from the cheap plastic to avoid a disaster. He huffed, irritated and offended at being pushed away, and sat on the couch beside me with the determined little glare I had come to know so well. 'Sorry, boy' I mouthed, pointing at the cell (not that he would even understand). Keeping my voice in control, I strained to stay as nonchalant as possible. "I guess that's why you're calling me, then." I didn't so much as speak as growl (_so much for nonchalant..._). If he had gotten my hopes up all this time that he had really changed and could be a mature person for at least a half hour...for _nothing..._

I didn't know how to think about the end of that sentence.

Tyler sighed. "That isn't the _only _reason, Lucy." He murmured passively. "I honestly was looking for an excuse to call you again...and this is as good as any. I was really happy to hear that you got a pokemon too, though, you know? It's really exciting!"

I was about to retort something back at him when I was reminded of my audience- from the corner of my eye, I saw a little leaf twitch expectantly. So, with a tiny sigh of defeat, I nodded. "Yeah," I replied, smiling a bit. Chikorita had instantly perked, his scarlet eyes wide with praise. I had really underestimated his hearing..."It's...it's not too bad."

"Of course!" Tyler laughed. "Chikorita's are awesome. Why _wouldn't_ you have a great time with him? I mean, besides you not wanting to train one in the first place. I love my Croconaw to pieces, but I've always wondered what it would be like to own a Chikorita-"

I was about to smile...before I froze. Mentally, fragments of thought shot wildly into my mind, causing the room to spin. My face grew hot. "Did...did you say you have a Croconaw?" I asked quietly. My voice was no louder than a pitiful squeak.

"Uh-huh! Started out as just a little baby totodile...man, I almost miss those days. He had a lot less...uh. Attitude, back then."

Chikorita, immediately sensing my fear, perched himself on my lap again to stare intently at my face. I was too stunned to push him away, instead lost in my own thoughts.

_Three whole years. _I thought in a daze. _It's been three whole years, and Croconaw hasn't evolved to his final form yet._

Just how long did evolution _take?_

_"_Um, Tyler." I managed to ask, playing with Chikorita's leaf in my hands. It was slightly sticky, and a powerfully sweet smell spread around the room, particularly on my hands. I could still smell the spicy undertone. I concentrated on it to keep myself from hysterics. "How long did it take for your totodile to evolve, exactly...?"

Tyler paused, thinking about it. "Huh, I dunno...about a month, or two?"

I looked down at Chikorita. A month or two. _That_ wasn't so bad. I gave him a reassuring smile and let go of his leaf, which he immediately began to swing at me with curious little cries of "Chi? Chik chik ri-" as if asking me what my problem was. I grinned. Tyler, obviously hearing our little exchange, chuckled. "He sounds pretty energetic!" He commented. "Most chikorita that I've meant have been a bit on the slow side..."

A tiny puff of prickly, sharp leaves down-poured over my cellphone. I cleared my throat. "Ex-nay on the Ita-ay..." I hissed into my poor, often abused cell. I wasn't the best at taking care of technology, and Chikorita wasn't helping. Tyler got the message, promptly adding that all Chikorita were different, and that for the most part, they were a highly intelligent species. Chikorita was pacified.

"So, anyway, Lucy..." Tyler said at last. I got the sense that this was what he had been waiting to say all night, past the apologies and catching up (though those were probably the most important). "I was wondering, about after I challenge Jasmine...if you'd like to meet up again. I could either stop by, or meet you half way, or something..." He suddenly was very cautious and shy. "I mean, if you want. I could totally understand if you didn't, but..."

Playing with a crack in my cellphone's case, I tried to sound as neutral as possible. "That'd be cool, I guess..." I began to wonder. Was it really okay to see him again? I knew that he was sorry, and even in this short amount of time, I had almost forgiven him...but I knew that things weren't just going to return the way they were, just like that. People change. As much as I wanted to meet with Tyler again, to talk to him in person about all of the little things we had missed...the prospect was a bit scary. He sounded so much the same...and yet an entirely different person. This wasn't the hyper, immature Tyler I had played with in the sandbox. This was...

Well, just who _was _he?

"You should definately call me after your gym battle, Ty." I held out a hand to Chikorita, offering him a high-five. He eagerly smacked my hand with his leaf. I wondered if he had better strength in it than in his legs...they _were_ pretty stubby... "You said you were challenging Jasmine in Olivine, right? How long would that take?"

Tyler exhaled, now completely at ease and returned to his slightly-cocky self. "Ah, Jasmine's gonna be a piece of _cake." _I could almost- no, I _could _see the ego-ridden smirk all over his face as he pictured beating this gym leader in one shot. "I can't wait until you meet my Houndoom! He's _amazing. _You have no idea the amount of training I put into that guy...I bet he could eat your Chikorita for an appetizer! God, is he a beast. I'm so proud of him..."

I sighed, once again holding Chikorita back from annihilating my phone. "Yeah, sure." I muttered. It was hard to be enthusiastic with an angry little grass pokemon crawling all over you, bristling with rage. "I guess we'll just have to see."

Tyler chuckled. "Yeah, we will. I think I should be done with Jasmine in a few days,_ if_ that, so stay on standby, okay Lucy? I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. Maybe we could meet in Cherrygrove, or something...hey! I could even escort you back to Olivine with me! The pokemon in this area would K.O you and Chikorita in a single shot, but it'd be worth a try..."

What was with him and taking shots at my Chikorita? I was having enough trouble keeping him from destroying my phone as it was. "Uh, _right, _Tyler. Why don't I leave him in a room with you and see who knocks out who first? I think you'd be pretty interested." "_Chichichichichichi!_" Chikorita vehemently agreed. Oh boy. Was he expecting a match? I really hoped not...

"Definitely, Lucy. You just wait and see. I'll call you in four days, at the very most. And that's just the worse-case scenario. Okay?"

I smiled in spite of myself. "Yeah, okay Ty. See you."

He laughed. "Bye!"

I stared at my phone for a few moments, trying to understand the passage of time just crossed in half an hour. Technology was amazing. Smiling at the highly flustered, revenge-hungry little pokemon in my lap, I picked him up and gave him a quick (and I couldn't stress this enough, when I say _quick) _hug. Chikorita stared at me, incredulous, before twirling his leaf above his head in what I assumed was a cheer of victory. It would have been fine, except for the sweet and spicy pollen now sporing all over my couch. I sneezed.

Chikorita winced, then scuffed his tiny feet on my lap before walking away with his head held high, reminding me that I had just ruined the moment. I sighed.

Maybe some things changed, and maybe others never would...

* * *

Hey peeps! I consider this a bit of a filler chapter, but it's sort of supposed to explain a few things...I hope I did alright with that. There are a loooot more questions I'm going to do a better job of answering later. Reviews are appreciated...you know, if you want...

Thanks for reading guys! =)


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